Director of Development

Director Of Development

Be Strong International (BSI) is seeking a mission-driven and relationship-focused Director of Development to lead our development strategy and drive growth. This key leadership role will build and steward relationships with individual donors, corporate partners, foundations, and community stakeholders to ensure financial sustainability and programmatic expansion. The ideal candidate is a strategic thinker, strong communicator, and passionate advocate for our work and is someone who brings both heart and results.

Manager to list the top 5 critical duties for this role (these will be used to qualify/measure a new hire during their probationary performance review).

1. Lead and execute a comprehensive fundraising strategy with full accountability for achieving or exceeding annual contributed revenue targets, including individual, corporate, and institutional giving.

2. Actively leverage existing community, corporate, and donor relationships to expand BSI's fundraising pipeline and secure new individual gifts, sponsor ships, and foundation support.

3. Personally cultivate, solicit, and steward major donors and partners, including leading face-to-face donor meetings, closing gifts, and maintaining ongoing relationship management.

4. Oversee fundraising systems and CRM strategy, including donor segmentation, pipeline management, reporting, and analysis to drive data-informed fundraising decisions and revenue growth.

5. Lead fundraising events and donor cultivation activities, including consistent availability for evenings and weekends, ensuring strong donor engagement and measurable fundraising outcomes.

Additional Responsibilities and Duties

Donor Development & Stewardship

• Lead the strategy and execution of donor cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship for individual, corporate, and major gift prospects.
• Design and oversee engagement strategies that increase donor retention, deepen relationships, and grow giving levels.
• Ensure high-quality, mission-aligned stewardship practices across all donor touchpoints.
• Represent BSI at key philanthropic, networking, and community events to actively grow and sustain a robust donor pipeline.
• Establish and uphold best practices for donor engagement and long-term relationship management.

Campaign Strategy & Appeals

• Provide strategic leadership for all fundraising campaigns, including year-end appeals, annual giving, online fundraising, and peer-to-peer initiatives.
• Partner with Marketing to ensure integrated and compelling donor messaging across all channels.
• Oversee the development of donor-facing communications and impact materials that clearly articulate BSI's mission and outcomes.
• Analyze campaign performance metrics and use insights to drive continuous improvement and revenue growth.

Grant Management & Institutional Fundraising

• Lead institutional fundraising strategy, including prospect identification, proposal development, and funder relationship management.
• Collaborate with program and finance teams to ensure compelling, compliant grant submissions and timely reporting.
• Maintain oversight of grant pipelines, deadlines, and deliverables to ensure accountability and sustainability.

CRM Management & Reporting

• Provide strategic oversight of BSI's fundraising CRM, including donor segmentation, pipeline management, and reporting.
• Utilize dashboards and data analysis to inform fundraising strategy, donor engagement, and revenue decisions.
• Drive improvements in systems, workflows, and SOPs to ensure efficient, values-aligned donor management practices.

Events & Sponsor ships

• Lead strategy and execution for fundraising events, donor cultivation activities, and sponsorship initiatives.
• Secure and steward corporate sponsors and partners, ensuring alignment with organizational goals.
• Oversee event planning logistics and sponsorship fulfillment in collaboration with internal and external partners.

Other duties as assigned.

Required Experience, Qualifications and Skill

• Master's degree or equivalent work experience in nonprofit management, fundraising, communications, or related field.
• Minimum of 5–7 years of progressive fundraising experience with direct responsibility for revenue generation ($1,000,000+ annually preferred).
• Proven experience cultivating, soliciting, and stewarding donors.
• Strong familiarity with community-based fundraising and relationship management.
• Experience representing an organization publicly and confidently.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills; able to write compelling proposals and tell powerful stories.
• Demonstrated experience with CRM systems (Hub Spot and Go High Level  preferred) and donor analytics.
• Highly organized, self-motivated, and able to manage multiple deadlines simultaneously.
• Comfort with public speaking, presentations, and relationship building with diverse stakeholders.
• Familiarity with event logistics, sponsorship management, and fundraising best practices.
• Demonstrated ability to manage a team.
• Proficiency in data analytics and financial…